


A Simple Walk

by LadyFogg



Series: Ryan & Mantis Series [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superhero, Anxiety, F/M, Feels, First Date, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Language, Romantic Fluff, Superpowers, superhero, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 18:11:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3987823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyFogg/pseuds/LadyFogg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You and Ryan take a small walk around town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Simple Walk

“Mantis…”

“No!”

“Mantis!”

"No!"

“Mantis, I’m trying to be patient here. Can you just--?”

“No! I changed my mind! Kerry, take me back home!”

You’re currently sitting in the back of Ryan’s limo, arms crossed tightly over your chest as you curl into yourself. You agreed to try to take a walk with him, without your mask. But now that you’re in the city, and he’s standing outside of the limo waiting, you can’t bring yourself to do it. You’re dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Your face feels cold without your mask and you move to touch your cheeks, as if hoping the rubber will suddenly materialize.

Ryan clucks his tongue in annoyance before leaning into the vehicle to look you in the eyes. “It’s just a walk,” he says softly. “You promised you would try. You’re doing great. You’ve come this far. Will you just step outside?”

“It’s not that simple!” you say. The hot air whips past Ryan into the cold limo and it actually feels kind of nice. But that doesn’t stop the anxiety piling in your stomach. It feels like it’s in knots and you try not to vomit all over Ryan’s expensive leather seats. “Maybe we should try this another time.”

“Love, we are here now,” Ryan says in a carefully controlled voice. “Are you really going to chicken out?”

You shoot him a glare. You know what he’s trying to do. If he makes this out like a challenge, he knows you won’t have any choice but to prove him wrong. You’ve never backed down from a challenge before.  “What if people recognize me?” you ask.

“They won’t.”

“What if there’s a problem and I need to take care of it?”

“You don’t have to. That’s why X-Ray and Vav are on patrol.”

“What if--?”

“ _Mantis!_ ” Ryan pauses to take a deep breath. You can see his jaw is clenched and he’s beyond frustrated. He collects himself before he speaks again, in a soft and gentle tone. His remarkable self control is actually quite admirable. “Nothing bad is going to happen. You will be just fine.”

“How can you be sure?”

Ryan sighs heavily and straightens up again, taking a step away from the limo. “Alright, I’m going to start walking. You can join me if you’d like, or you can stay here. I’m not going to fight with you anymore.”

He slams the car door shut and you watch him through the window as he begins to walk away. You’re not surprised at his frustration and now you feel bad about giving him a hard time. He had been so patient while you took forever to pick out what to wear. And he had been even more patient when it took you forever to finally climb into the limo. He didn’t even say anything when he caught you trying to smuggle your mask with you. He just took it from your hands and made Kerry hold on to it. The fact that your mask and hood sat next to Kerry in the front was proof that he didn’t want you to go out without some source of comfort nearby.

It was just a small step onto the sidewalk. So why did it feel so scary?

You square your shoulders. “Okay, okay, you can do this. You got this,” you told yourself. “You’ve fought death robots, lasers, mad scientists, and that weird business slash pirate man with the eyepatch. You can do this. You can take a walk with your partner.”

“Do you really want me to bring you home?” Kerry asks from the driver seat.

“No, no, I can do this,” you tell him, glancing up to meet his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Just...I need a push.”

Kerry turns around to look at you directly. “If you don’t go, he’ll be right. You would have chickened out.”

That was certainly motivation enough. Goodness knows you can’t let Ryan be right. You give Kerry a determined nod, shut your eyes, and climb out of the limo. The street is busy, but not uncomfortably so. People do shoot you looks as they pass, but you have to remind yourself it’s probably because you’re stepping out of a limo, wearing clothes most people wouldn’t associate with high society.

Ryan hasn’t walked far and you hurry to catch up with him. You do your best to avoid bumping into anyone, keeping your eyes focused on the back of Ryan’s head.

When you manage to catch up and slide your hand into his, he turns to beam at you. He looks proud. “I knew you could do it.”

“Stop looking so smug,” you mutter to him. “It makes me want to punch you.”

Ryan chuckles and gives your hand a squeeze. “As if you ever needed a reason before.”

The corner of your mouth turns up into a small smirk, before it quickly fades. You do most of your work at night, so being outside in broad daylight is strange enough. Now that you’re with Ryan, you take a moment to consider your surroundings. It’s hot. The sun is beating down on you and you can already feel yourself starting to sweat. Everything is bright and a little disorientating. Your eyes, so used to looking for danger, dance around wildly and you force yourself to stare at the sidewalk to keep yourself from getting overstimulated.

“This is weird,” you say instantly, pressing yourself close to Ryan. He drops your hand so he can put his arm around your shoulders. When you glance up, you realize that even though you are no longer near the limo, the stares haven’t stopped. “See, people are looking at me.”

Ryan chuckles softly. “Dear, they are looking at you because you have a billionaire’s arm around your shoulders,” he tells you. “Also, you’re beautiful. Who wouldn’t look at you?”

Sometimes you forget Ryan is actually well-known around town. His comment about your beauty makes you blush. “Oh…well, that would explain it.”

You walk in silence for a few moments. Every step for you feels like a mini victory. However, you can’t help but have concerns. “I still feel like people are going to figure out who I am,” you say softly to him.

“How?” Ryan asks you.

“Mantis and the Mad King are constantly fighting each other,” you tell him. “They know you’re the Mad King. Well, most people do. It’s not going to be hard for them to put two and two together.”

“I think you’re forgetting one very important thing,” Ryan says.

“What?”

“People are idiots.”

It’s a simple statement but it’s enough to make you laugh. “Alright, alright, fair enough,” you say.

“Let’s walk this way,” Ryan says. “There’s a small pastry shop up ahead where you can sit and eat outside. I figured it would be a nice start.”

You smile at his thoughtfulness. Eating outside would not only help you get used to the outdoors, but you wouldn’t feel claustrophobic and nervous, like you would if you ate inside surrounded by people. He leads you to the shop and you both take a seat at one of the small round tables in the corner of the patio. Your back is to the wall of the shop, which allows you to have a clear view of the street and not have to worry about someone coming up behind you.

The pastry shop also has a smoothie bar attached. A waitress comes over and gives you menus. Ryan orders a frozen drink and you order a smoothie and a few pastries. Once she goes to fulfill your order, Ryan reaches across the table to take your hands. “You’re doing amazing,” he says. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” you say. “I know dealing with this can be frustrating. But, you have to remember that I can’t help it. It may seem easy for you, but for me it’s not.”

Ryan’s smile fades and he looks ashamed. “I know, I know, I’m sorry I lost my patience,” he apologizes. “I just am excited to actually move forward with our relationship. I’ll try to be better in the future, promise.”

“Move forward?” you ask raising your eyebrow.

“In a sense, yeah,” he says. “Being seen together in public is a pretty big step for us. I know we don’t really have a conventional relationship, and we’ve done things a little out of order than most people do. But none of that matters to me. What matters is that I love you and want to bring you places and travel with you.”

“Oh god, travel?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m not planning anything,” Ryan assures you when he sees that your anxiety is ready to spike. “Eventually, I mean. When you get more comfortable leaving your house for anything other than hero duties.”

“Oh okay, phew. Don’t scare me like that.”

Ryan laughs. “Was not my intention, I can assure you,” he says.

You inhale deeply as a cool breeze sweeps by and ruffles your hair. “This is nice,” you admit, looking around. No one is paying attention anymore and you let the tension out of your shoulders as you relax into your seat. The waitress brings your order and you politely thank her. The smoothie is wonderful and the pastries are delicious.

“Do you ever think about what you want from us in the future?” Ryan asks carefully.

“Sometimes,” you say. “But in all honesty, I barely know what I want from myself in the future. I don’t think it’s right to try to make plans for us before making plans for myself.” You pause as you reach for another pastry, your eyes flickering up to meet his. “Why? Do you think about it?”

“Of course I do,” he says. “I would love for us to live together at the very least. I know you don’t like to be tied down by people, so marriage isn’t really necessary.”

“But you’ve thought about it?” you ask.

“Have you?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Because I think you already know the answer. And I don’t know yours.”

You lower your hand and lean forward to catch the straw of your drink between your lips. You take a thoughtful sip as you contemplate your response. “I guess I never really thought about marriage before,” you admit after a few moments. “You’re the first romantic relationship I’ve ever had. I sort of gave up on all of that when I put on the mask.”

Ryan nods with understanding and you see a flash of pain across his face for a moment before he gives you a large smile. “Well, we don’t have to talk about that right now,” he says. “Now, let’s just enjoy our first real date.”

You laugh. “Oh yeah,” you say. “This is our first actual date. Lindsay will be pleased.”

Ryan laughs as well and holds up his drink towards you. You pick up your smoothie and clink your glass with his.

“I already have an idea for our second date,” he says with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Something tells me I’m not going to like it.”

“There’s an event my company is throwing at the end of next week--”

“No.”

“Dear--”

“Absolutely, not!”

“We are not going to do this back and forth again.”

“Damn right we are.”

“I’m sure I can convince you to change your mind.”

“I’m sure you can go to hell.”

“Well that’s a little harsh.”

“Fuck you, I’m not getting all dolled up to spend an evening with people I don’t know.”

Ryan leans forward on the table and fixes your eyes with a smoldering look. “What would it take to get you to agree to come with me?”

You smirk at his choice of words. “You know I’m not entirely sure,” you say. “Guess we’ll just have to go back to my place and see.”

Ryan smirks back and signals the waitress for the check. “Then let’s get you home.”

“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day.”


End file.
